"We're finally doing things first-rate as an organization. I feel our players have to reciprocate. I feel we have to the players to do it."

This lead didn't exactly slip away. It got blown up. The Browns led 24-17 after three quarters, then gave up three touchdowns in a nine-minute stretch.

It was the third straight game in which they blew a fourth-quarter lead.

"I wish I had answers," said Jason Campbell, who fell to 1-5 as this year's starting quarterback. "The effort is there. The guys are fighting."

Campbell failed to follow up his strong game at New England with a crisp performance.

The Browns led 10-3, could have been up by more, fell behind in classic SOB (Same Old Browns) fashion, tried hard to break the find-a-way-to-lose habit, and didn't.

They survived a first big crisis.

Their No. 7-ranked defense gave up a long touchdown drive in the final seconds of the first half, then Campbell opened the second half by throwing an easy-pickings, 43-yard pick-six to cornerback Zack Bowman.

Trailing 17-10 after that mess, though, Campbell led an 85-yard touchdown drive that tied it. Late in the third quarter, Browns defensive end Billy Winn ripped the ball away from tight end Martellus Bennett, and safety T.J. Ward returned the recovery 51 yards for a TD.

The Browns led 24-17.

After that? They couldn't stop running back Matt Forte (24 carries, 127 yards). Bears quarterback Jay Cutler knocked off the rust (265 yards, three touchdowns). And the Browns' defense collapsed after Joe Haden left the game with a hip injury.

Bears head coach Marc Trestman gave his team an "A" for mastering one of the three Fs.

"Our guys really focused," he said. "We were coming off a short week after an exceptional Monday night game (45-28 win over Dallas). We stayed aggressive throughout the game.

"I'm giving the guys a couple days off."

The Bears, 8-6, are in the hunt for the AFC North title. They have a half-game lead over Detroit, 7-6, which will play at Baltimore Monday night.

Cutler missed the previous four games with a high ankle sprain. That showed in two first-half interceptions, including a 44-yard pick six by safety Tashaun Gipson that gave the Browns a 10-3 lead.

"I was rusty," said Cutler, who can be a free agent after the season.

"There were times he wasn't sharp," Trestman said, "but overall he was sharp."

Trailing 24-17, Cutler threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffrey and a 4-yard TD pass to Earl Bennett. The latter play provided a 31-24 lead with 5:41 left.

Michael Bush drove away what was left of the crowd with a 40-yard TD run a short while later, making it 38-24. Campbell's 43-yard TD pass to Josh Gordon made it 38-31 with 59 seconds left, but the Browns could not recover an onside kick, as New England had done a week earlier.

"The guys are competing," Chudzinski said. "They want to win so badly. It's frustrating because the outcomes aren't there."

Focus, fight, finish, frustration. The words drifted into the drudgery of one more F. The Browns' losing streak reached five.

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